The Vermont 2012 Legislative Report

7/31/2019 The Vermont 2012 Legislative Report

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The Vermont 2012

Legislative Summary


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Agriculture Committee

Vermonts Working Landscapes

Recognizing that Vermonts most reliable assets are its people and its natural resources, the WorkingLandscapes bill will stimulate economic development, encourage entrepreneurship and job creation inagriculture and in Vermonts forest products industry. The Agriculture Development Board established

in 2010 will now set policy for the forest industry. A new group, the Working Landscapes EnterpriseBoard, will implement the policy, making determinations on funding and resources for those who wantto start-up, expand, or branch-out in agriculture and forestry.

The board will consider providing enterprise grants, infrastructure investments, capital for a businessgrowth phase, and business planning and startup help, as well as wraparound services, technicalassistance and nancial packaging. Available funds may be leveraged through private funders andfoundations. This is a transformational piece of legislation. If Vermont still has vibrant agricultural andforest activity in 20 years, it will be because of the work started this year.

GMO Labeling

Vermonters care about food and care about choice. Today eighty-percent of all packaged foods soldin this country are products of genetic engineering, yet it is difcult for Vermonters to make informedchoices about these products because they are not labeled, or are mislabeled. This is a concern tomany Vermonters and the impetus for the Vermont Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food La-beling bill.

Although no bill moved forward this year, the testimony taken lays out a defensible case for a state-wide labeling requirement of foods produced through genetic engineering, as well as concern regard-ing the public health and environmental consequences of genetic engineering. Expect to see a billtaken up for reconsideration in the next biennium.

Appropriations Committee

This committee builds two major bills each year. Early in January the committee addressed the Bud-get Adjustment Act (BAA) to adjust current year spending and ensure we end the scal year with abalanced budget. In that bill, $15 million was appropriated for the Emergency Recovery AssistanceFund (ERAF) and provided disaster recovery initiatives for individuals and municipalities.

Following the Governors budget address, the committee took up the FY 13 budget, known as the Big

Bill. Building the budget is where your money intersects with the policy in other legislative committeesThe money and policy committees depend on each other for guidance as programs link with moneyto implement our goals. Growing revenues from the slowly improving economy, past investments thatsaved us money, declining growth in Medicaid, and prudent use of disaster relief funds allowed us tomake important investments.Rebuilding Vermont after Irene and spring ooding accounts for nearly half of the budget increase.Irene forced action on a decade long discussion to close the Vermont State Hospital replacing it witha stronger community based system and a smaller secure facility. $20 million in federal money istargeted for a complete revision of Vermonts mental health system. $100 million in additional trans-portation funding addresses storm damage at State and local levels. The Vermont Housing and Con-servation Board and the Agency of Commerce and Community Development are directing resources


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to help ood ravaged communities rebuild homes and infrastructure. Mobile homeowners will benetfrom $650,000 to help them replace their homes damaged in the oods.To improve community safety, local law enforcement will have $150,000 to combat Vermonts growinggang presence. Weve added a prosecutor and two forensic investigators to stop people trafcking ininternet-based child pornography. Additionally, for the rst time in several years, the full contingent ofthe State Police ranks are funded and our courts will no longer have furlough days but will once againbe open ve days a week.

Investments weve made in community agencies- such as VNAs and Area Agencies on Aging- willimprove service to our elderly neighbors who choose their care in community settings for better qual-ity of life at a lower cost. We were able to fund all of the increased case load of graduating studentswith developmental disabilities who nish school and need services in the community. Additionally,this budget funds a new model of addiction recovery services: $4.1 million was added to existing re-sources for model of medical addiction treatment called Hub and Spoke. This model does away withexisting waiting lists for opiate addiction treatment, building capacity and better coordinating addic-tion services provided in the private arena. In addition, recovery centers in the state will establish andmove towards standards to help address the daily living needs of those who are trying to shed theiraddiction.

While this may seem dry to many, we are able to fund substantial improvement of the States tech-nology infrastructure, some of which is over thirty years old. This long overdue modernization of ourcomputer systems is critical for effective and timely delivery of services, transparency of how Ver-monters money is spent, and collecting valid data with which to make informed decisions.

To be good stewards of taxpayer money we have devised a prudent use of surpluses at the end ofthe year: Half of the surplus goes into the Education Fund to relieve property taxes. The other half willbe split between a true rainy day fund for future difculties and a fund to address federal cuts to thestate. This provision begins at the end of FY 13.

We ended the year with a balanced budget, which we do every year, despite the large gaps that wehave had to close. It is a responsible budget that provides for the essential services of state govern-ment while saving money to address an uncertain future.

Commerce and Economic Development Committee

Genuine Progress Indicator

This legislation created a collaboration of state government and the Gund Institute at the University ofVermont. Gund will develop indicators and data points to measure and track the states economic, so-

cial, and environmental progress over time. This data will be used to supplement the traditional mea-sure of gross state product that tracks the nancial value of the goods and services produced in thestate. By following additional indicators--some that add to societal costs and some that reduce thesecosts--better information will be available to policy makers. By measuring a broad range of indicators,Vermonters can assess the impact of their policy decisions.

Mutual Benet Enterprise

When a group of producers who operate cooperatively such as farmers, artisans crafters, or cheesemakers want to build a production facility so they can add value to their products, they need capi-tal. If the producers dont have enough of their own capital, they can now seek investors who are notproducers themselves.


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Vermonts new Mutual Benet Enterprise structure allows producers, value-adders, and investors tocome together for their mutual benet in an enterprise that is protected from provisions of antitrustlegislation. This business form will allow Vermonters to capture more of the value from their farm andforest land and will help these enterprises get the resources they need to grow their sales and theiremployment.

Education Committee

Green Cleaning

Protecting the health and safety of Vermonts children remains a top priority for all of us. In recentyears, the number of children suffering from illnesses triggered by toxins in our environment has risendramatically. In response, the Legislature worked with school administrators, custodians, and healthofcials to craft a law that would make schools healthier for all occupants. Young children are espe-cially vulnerable to environmental toxins because of their small lungs and more frequent contact withoors and surfaces that harbor residue from toxic cleaning substances. S.92 requires that distribu-tors and manufacturers sell only environmentally preferable cleaning products and air fresheners to

schools, school districts, supervisory unions, or procurement consortiums. It does not limit the sale,use or distribution of anti-microbial pesticides (e.g. disinfectants and sanitizers). The bill is sensi-tive to the burdens schools face on a daily basis and carefully balances our interest in protecting kidswith the efcient operation of school buildings. By supporting the use of green cleaning products inschools, our commitment to protecting our natural resources and keeping Vermonters safe is demon-strated.

Educational Leadership

Vermont spends $1.5 billion each year on education. Relative to our investment, we have successfuloutcomes compared to other states. But we can do better. With a Secretary of Education in the gov-ernors cabinet, he or she can convey a unied vision to deliver effective outcomes that improve the

quality of education in our state. Every two years, the electorate can hold the governor accountablefor Vermont students education metrics and the cost of delivering them. Furthermore, our new edu-cation governance model will help us reduce the achievement gap, which costs our state in so manyways.

The Legislature passed a law this session enabling the governor to appoint a Secretary of Educationbeginning January 1, 2013. This bill elevates the Commissioner of Education to a cabinet level posi-tion and gives the governor authority to select a secretary from a pool of three candidates advancedby the Vermont Board of Education. Permitting the state board to select candidates also provides abuffer against the politicization of education at the state level.

This legislation signicantly increases transparency and accountability at the state level. It will helpVermont administer statewide education policies more efciently and allow decisions related to edu-cation to be made in the context of broader state priorities. Greater transparency and accountabilitywill elevate the importance of education policy and put it on par with other vital services administeredby state and local government.

More on Merging

Encouraging our school districts to share programs and personnel is one way to reduce costs, im-prove efciency and share talent. H.753 increases incentives and opportunities to schools, districtsand supervisory unions (SU) planning to merge or share services with additional incentives for thosemerging within the year. The state will conduct a study to recommend merging SUs and interstate


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SUs with our neighboring states.

Fish Wildlife and Water Resources Committee

Prohibition on Fracking

GoverningMagazine identied enhanced extraction of natural gas, called hydraulic fracturing orfracking, as one of the issues to watch in 2012. Although Vermont does not appear to have a goodsource of recoverable natural gas, there are some shale deposits in the northwest corner of the statethat could be of interest for extraction in the future. Nearby Quebec has found some commercially vi-able sites.

Hydraulic fracturing (differentiated from benign hydro-fracturing for well water) involves horizontaldrilling at considerable depths and injecting millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemi-cals. Over the past 10 years, the use of fracking has grown about 3000% and many questions remainunanswered as to the effect on air and water quality and seismic activity.

This spring the legislature passed a bill making Vermont the rst state in the nation to place a prohibi-

tion on fracking. Over the next three years, the Agency of Natural Resources will be reviewing upcom-ing studies and putting rules in place to make sure our air and water are protected should the prohibi-tion ever be lifted.

Preparing for future ood disasters

For many of us, the danger posed by the ooding events of 2011 has passed and normalcy hasresumed. This doesnt mean, however, that there are not important lessons to learn to reduce theemotional and nancial costs of destroyed property and disrupted lives if and when we experience theterror of another ood-related disaster in the future.

The Legislature passed measures to protect Vermonters from future ood damage. This legislation

overcomes obstacles to Vermonters ability to get ood insurance and sets up a process to protectproperty from erosion damage. The major policy goals in both provisions are to provide assistance toood victims and prevent future damage from occurring.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) makes ood insurance available to Vermonters notaccessible in the free market. To maintain eligibility for this ood insurance, communities must regu-late alldevelopment in the ood plain. Most towns and cities in Vermont have local ood hazard areazoning regulations and participate in the NFIP, though agriculture has traditionally been exempted.To comply with the NFIP and ensure access to affordable ood insurance, the Legislature passed S.202, which regulates exempt land uses, including agriculture, in ood hazard areas.

This legislation also takes steps to address ood-related erosion. Legislators established a frameworkfor mapping rivers and streams prone to erosion. We also gave municipalities the tools and authorityto develop voluntary erosion hazard zoning regulations.

Rivers and Lakes

2011 ooding events not only changed our physical landscape, they also brought a paradigm shiftin how we manage our water resources and help or hurt oodway resiliency. Legislation passed thisyear will help us co-exist with our rivers and better coordinate with FEMA and federal assistance inthe following ways:

Expands state assistance to communities and governmental units to comply with National Flood


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Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements.Supports communities by providing model bylaws and ordinances to regulate development in

waterways and oodways.Assists municipalities with mapping to help identify ood hazard areas, river protection zones

and areas sensitive to erosion.Claries authority and activity in rivers and streams under emergency conditions.Creates education and outreach to help emergency workers prepare and recover from ooding.

Simple changes in the type of activity in a river can have a profound effect on a rivers ability to

stabilize, decrease future ooding and protect water quality and habitat.

A broad and comprehensive report is due next to identify the structure and funding of a regional/state-wide effort to improve water quality of our lakes. This may take the form of a clean water utility. Itwill also address lakeshore protection and restoration, agricultural impacts, urban water quality and astrategic implementation plan.

General Housing and Military Affairs Committee

Supporting Growing IndustriesVermonts beer, wine, and liquor manufactures are part of an exciting, burgeoning new industry. Tosupport them, while also maintaining important protections, the Legislature made a number of smallthough valuable adjustments to state liquor laws. Restaurants that cater events will no longer needto seek out a separate catering license to serve alcohol; caterers who do not have a restaurant canapply for a license to sell wine and beer at their events. These changes simplify the regulations forbusinesses and those planning events alike. The Legislature also enabled vintners to deliver more oftheir own product to retailers and restaurants. Finally, this years legislation expands the Liquor Con-trol Board from three to ve members in response to a growing desire to have wider representation ofregions and interests on the board.

Growing and Preserving Affordable Housing

Irene devastated mobile homes across Vermont. Since September, state agents have been workingto nd a way to increase affordable housing and access to new mobile homes. S.99 addresses theseneeds and provides the governors administration with the tools it needs to aid in the redevelopmentof mobile home parks and alternative housing. S.99 also gives municipalities a new option in dispos -ing of abandoned mobile homes and provides landlords with a denitive timeframe when disposing ofunclaimed property after an eviction. Additionally, legislation was also passed this session that prohib-its discrimination against affordable housing units in land use decisions, ensures homeowner safety inlicensing of electricians, and creates a specialty license for renewable energy installers.

Military AffairsThis year the Legislature was able to correct a longstanding wrong. The property tax exemption ben-et has only applied to those veterans disabled while serving in a war or overseas. Soldiers who are50% disabled as a result of service incurred stateside or during peacetime will now be eligible for theproperty tax exemption benet.

Additionally, Health care became an issue for several Guard members. This resulted in a clarica-tion that any Guard member called up for less than thirty days can keep their pre-existing insurancecoverage. Once thirty days has passed, the State can start paying the employers share of healthcarecosts, thus keeping seamless coverage for the entire family.


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The Guards deployment during Irene was a great success; however this was the time soldiers hadbeen deployed for more than 30 days and some glitches emerged. National Guard members fromout-of-state that helped received housing allowances while our Vermont National Guard members didnot. Legislation passed this year will ensure that the next time our soldiers are called up under stateservice, they will receive the same housing allowance received when they are called up to providefederal service. The housing allowance recognizes that the soldier is foregoing civilian pay need topay rent or mortgage back home.

Government Operations Committee

Search and Rescue

Levi Duclos was a 2010 graduate of Mount Abraham High School in Bristol where he helped foundthe Environmental Club. He spent a year hiking in the western U.S. and in Nepal, where he alsotaught English in a small mountain town. Last fall he entered Reed College in Portland, OR; over win-ter break, he came home to visit his mother, brother and friends.Levi went for a hike with his dog on January 9th. He brought along his cell phone and let his familyknow where he was going and when he expected to return. When he hadnt returned by early eve-

ning, his mother called for help.His body was recovered the next day from the ridge up above Ripton and Lincoln. He had died ofhypothermia during the night. His death was a tragedy that has echoed across the state.

H. 794, our search and rescue bill, establishes interim protocols for search and rescue which willstay in place until further legislative action. Under the interim protocols, local search and rescue op-erations will:

Use the incident command system;

Respond immediately to every call, in consultation with the state police search and rescue team;

Attempt the earliest possible rescue or recovery of every person in need of help;

Call upon the individuals and organizations capable of helping listed in the search and rescue data-

base

Receive more training from the Criminal Justice Training Council.

In addition, a search and rescue strategic plan committee will convene leaders from all participatingagencies to further examine our current approach, suggest improvements, and report back to theLegislature by Dec. 15, 2012.

Embezzlement: prevention & detection in our municipalitiesVermont has earned the dubious distinction of being rst in the nation for being at high risk for em -bezzlement according to a 2012 report. Something needed to be done to protect taxpayers money in

municipalities.

Legislation passed in S.106 authorizes the State Auditor to create an internal controls checklist andprovide education to county, municipalities and school district personnel who receive or disbursefunds. The document is designed to determine that nancial controls are in place to assure properuse of all public funds. The legislative bodies of these organizations must receive and review thechecklist and insure sound systems of internal nancial controls are in place. Treasurers must lequarterly reports with the select board or school board regarding his or her actions.

The best deterrent to prevent fraud is to create the perception that people are being watched. Goodworking internal controls can be very effective in creating an atmosphere in which it is difcult to cre -


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ate this crime.

Redistricting

This process began with six public hearings conducted across the different regions of the state fol-lowed up by extensive testimony within the State House. The Legislature set a goal to honor the over-whelming sentiment from the public to make as few changes to districts as were necessary and avoidsplitting towns and villages. By constitutional mandate and state statute, reapportionment must main-tain equality of representation as nearly as is practicable based on the 2010 census numbers. Difcult

decisions were made to balance these goals. Because population has shifted northward, Burlingtonwas given an additional seat, eliminating one from an area of the state with population decline. Fiftydistricts had absolutely no change, except perhaps for district name.

Health Care Committee

Vaccinations

The Legislature passed a bill that calls for outreach and continued communication between parentsand their school nurses with a goal to increase vaccination rates around Vermont. The Legislature

was particularly concerned with making sure adequate protections are in place both for children whocannot be vaccinated and also for children with special health needs. Parents wishing to exempt theirchild from a vaccine will now need to sign off annually with their school nurse. The Department ofHealth will increase outreach into communities with lower vaccination rates and will collect more com-plete data about the use of exemptions.

Health Care Exchange

The Legislature took an important step forward in moving toward a health care system that providesthe best care possible for all Vermonters. The combination of the Federal Affordable Care Act and thenew state law passed will give many of us access to better insurance plans at more affordable prices.The Health Benet Exchange is due to be in full operation starting in 2014.

This new marketplace will be good for our families because we will be able to compare health insur-ance products and dene the type of health care coverage that best ts our familys health care andnancial needs. The Federal Affordable Care Act also provides for signicant tax breaks for most Ver-monters who purchase insurance here. These tax breaks will make good coverage more affordable.

The exchange marketplace will also be good for Vermont businesses. After 2014, small businessesin our communities will have new choices available to them to make sure that their employees havegood access to care. Many businesses will have a new choice to free themselves from the burdenof managing employee health benets and be able to focus their energy on what they do best: grow

their businesses and provide the best Vermont-made products and services.

Human Resources Committee

Vermonts Mental Health System of Care

Vermonters who have mental health conditions deserve to have high quality services and care avail-able to them in both community settings and, when needed, in inpatient hospital settings. H.630strengthens Vermonts existing mental health care system. The enhanced continuum of communityand peer services, and the range of acute inpatient beds throughout the state, will ensure that Ver-


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monters with mental health needs are better served.

Specically, the bill requires:developing a clinical resource management system; integrating the treatment for mental health, substance abuse, and physical health;contracting for new peer services and expanding existing programs;enhancing existing community services at the designated agencies by using mobile emergency

support teams, allowing for case management for more individuals, increasing adult outpatient

services, and establishing additional short-term crisis beds;developing a ve-bed residence for individuals seeking treatment with minimal use of psychotro-

pic medications;providing housing subsidies to individuals recovering from mental illness; developing new inten-

sive residential recovery facilitiesand replacing the services provided at the Vermont State Hospital with:

o 14-bed unit within the Brattleboro Retreat o a six-bed unit within Rutland RegionalMedical Center

o temporarily contracting for seven to twelve inpatient beds at Fletcher Allen Health Careo inpatient services at a temporary location in Morrisvilleo

a new 25-bed acute care inpatient hospital in central Vermonto a secure ve-bed residential facility

Hemp

The House passed a measure that would move Vermont one step closer to legalizing industrial hempfarming. Hemp is a diverse crop that can be used to make clothes, paper, fuel, and can be used inconstruction. In 2008, the House passed a measure to allow the Agency of Agriculture to set up therules and procedures for hemp farming licensing when the federal government legalizes it. This year,the House requested the Agency of Agriculture to start setting up the rules and procedures now forhemp farming in Vermont so when the federal government legalizes it, we will be ready to move for-ward.

Youth Smoking Prevention

The Youth Smoking Prevention bill passed this year creates and implements several strategies tocurb smoking rates. 14% of all high school boys smoke cigarettes and 18% smoke cigars, cigarillos,and little cigars. This is a cost not only to our childrens health, but also to our community in general.The bill bans the sale of electronic cigarettes, a tobacco product, to children under the age of 18. E-cigarettes have tested positive for cancer-causing toxins by the FDA and are a gateway for children tostart using tobacco products. This bill requires little cigars, which are similar in size to cigarettes, to bepackaged in packs of 20 and brings their tax rate closer to cigarettes. It also increases their cost, thusless accessible to children. The bill also bans commercial rolling machines in the state and createsbetter signage about cessation programs where tobacco products are sold. These strategies, com-bined with critical cessation programs, will help to eliminate smoking in our state.

Smoking Prevention

Since addiction to tobacco is one of the hardest addictions to overcome, we continue to work to keepyoung people from ever becoming addicted to it. H.747 makes it illegal to sell not only tobacco prod -ucts, but also tobacco substitutes such as electronic cigarettes, and tobacco paraphernalia to minors.(Minors can still buy tobacco cessation aids.) Tobacco substitutes must join tobacco products in onlybeing available when accessed by a store employee, and you will soon see greatly simplied warningsigns stating that the sale of tobacco products, substitutes, and paraphernalia to minors is prohibited.The sign may also include information about the health effects of tobacco and tobacco cessation ser-


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our schools will be free of harassment, hazing and bullying. Students cannot fully access educationalopportunities when the school climate is hostile. We have made it clear that we want school authori-ties to take reasonable action to prevent continuing hostility in the school when behavior is eitherpervasive or severe, or both. At the other end of the age spectrum, we have worked further to protectvulnerable adults. The Attorney Generals ofce can now le a civil cause of action in cases wherevulnerable adults have been neglected or abused. This additional tool will allow Vermont to pursuenes and demand corrective action where warranted without closing group homes and adult carefacilities.

Vermont has been a leader when it comes to enforcing civil rights under the state constitutions com-mon benets clause. We were rst to allow same-sex civil unions and a decade later, we were therst state legislature to pass a marriage equality law. But same-sex couples who came to Vermontto legally solemnize their partnership, who later wanted to dissolve that union, have not been able todo so if their home state does not recognize same-sex unions. Our new marriage dissolution statuteeliminates the 6- month residency requirement to dissolve a marriage or civil union in cases wherecouples are unable to dissolve their legal union in their home state.

Vermonts racial minorities are overrepresented in our prisons by a factor of seven. A new study will

examine the legal and non-legal factors that may lead to arrest and also examine disparities in sen-tencing. The Vermont State Police as well as the Burlington, South Burlington and Winooski policedepartments have shown strong leadership in examining racial bias by collecting data on roadsidepolice stops and arrests; this new statute requires all Vermonts law enforcement agencies to adoptbias-free policing policies by January 2013.

People deserve a second chance. As of July 1, 2012, if someone was convicted of a non-violentmisdemeanor, have gone at least ten years without new charges and paid any restitution owed, theycan apply to have their record expunged or sealed. If the court agrees to expunge or seal records,you may lawfully claim not to have a criminal record. We believe this will help those people who haveturned their lives around since a youthful indiscretion.

Vermonters who inherit an estate or who receive some type of legal settlement may have it struc-tured in such a way that the payout is made over time or deferred to a future date. There are a fewcompanies that buy out these structured settlements, often for pennies on the dollar. There are timeswhen someone may have a legitimate and immediate need to cash out for a much-diminished return,but our judges have seen some questionable deals and been powerless to protect Vermonters fromexploitation. The settlement buyouts will continue under our new statute, but the company must com-pletely disclose how much money the individual would lose in the deal and also provide ndings tothe court on why the original terms of the settlement should be altered.

The most common non-violent misdemeanor charge in Vermont is driving without a license. Nearly38,000 licenses are suspended and about 60% (23,000) of these suspensions are for failure to paynes and for accumulation of points, resulting in situations hard for many people to extricate them -selves from. After July 1, the department of motor vehicles, diversion boards and the judicial bureauwill begin notifying people of their eligibility to enter in to a diversion contract in order to clear theirdriving records. This should take some pressure off the courts and save tax dollars. The diversionprogram for DLS will also get people back on track with our legal system.

Natural Resource and Energy Committee


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Universal Recycling and Solid Waste

Vermont has only two landlls and may have just one in the near future. It is imperative to reducethe quantity of waste currently going to landlls. H. 485 takes the rst step to achieving universalrecycling in Vermont, which not only diverts waste from our limited landll space, but also providessignicant economic development opportunities. Specically, H.485 sets a schedule to ban recyclablematerial from landlls statewide, and then phases in recycling of yard waste and other organic mate -rials such as food scraps. There are tiered implementation dates from July 2014 to July 2020. Solidwaste facilities, trash haulers, and individuals have compliance target dates that allow for education

and smooth transition.

Investing in Renewable Energy

This year, the Legislature has kept Vermont on the path of reducing greenhouse gases while grow-ing our green economy. We did this by setting long-term renewable energy goals and expandingour standard offer program, which provides for long-term, stably priced contracts for small renew-able projects. The deliberate pace of this rollout will minimize rate impact and take advantage of thesteadily decreasing cost of renewable technologies. We also set a fair, uniform capacity-based taxfor solar projects at $4 per kW. Prior to this, with no agreed-upon way to tax solar arrays, develop-ers suffered under a cloud of uncertainty. Residential-sized solar (under 10 kW in size), however, is

exempt from taxation.

Transportation Committee

Investing in Our State Infrastructure

Vermonts budget invests in a safe, efcient, and fully integrated transportation system. Transporta-tion investments strengthen our economy and improve quality of life. The administration has proposedone of the largest transportation budgets in history - $658 million in 2013 - that seriously addressesneglected infrastructure needs as well as challenges presented by Irene.Here are some additional highlights from this years transportation budget:

The $104 million proposed for paving in 2012 will continue to increase the rating of state roadconditions.

The 2012 budget for bridges is at record high of $123 million with the Champlain Bridge alreadycompleted. From 2010 to now, the number of structurally decient bridges has come downfrom 16% to 9% - moving Vermont up from 42nd place ranking to 29th among states.

The purchase of Vermont Strong license plates goes to the Vermont Disaster Relief Fund andVermont Foodbank. There are now over 25,000 in circulation.

Honoring Our Fallen Soldiers Next of Kin license plates

A few years ago, a Vermont family tragically lost their son in a military training accident and learned

they were not eligible for a Gold Star license plate because he was not killed in combat. The Legis-lature sought to bestow similar dignity and respect upon this family and others who have lost familymembers in non-combat situations. This year, we passed legislation issuing a special Next of Kinlicense plate to family members who have lost soldiers serving honorably in non-combat active duty.Vermont joins 30 other states in honoring these Next of Kin families.

Ways and Means Committee

Mobile home nancing and weatherization


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Housing thats affordable for modest income households consists mainly of older, energy-inefcienthomes and mobile homes; neither is an adequate answer for housing. The nancing of mobile homeshas been especially difcult since the meltdown of the investment banks and subsequent federalbanking regulations. The 2011 ooding in Vermont only made things worse. The Legislature steppedin to help. As a result, homeowners across the state will have access to new funding for weatheriza-tion, and mobile home owners will be eligible for tax incentives and nancing help totaling $1.1 mil-lion, and will be able to form cooperative mobile home parks.

TaxesThe cooperation and mutual support in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene demonstrated the best ofVermonters and our shared responsibility to help rebuild a stronger state. While there were no broad-based tax increases, there were tax changes that will put money in Vermonters pockets at a timethey need it most. These changes promote fairness and economic competitiveness, and will helpsustain our schools and state infrastructure. Vermonters will now be able to:

receive more help from the Vermont Taxpayer Advocate, in context of a new Taxpayer Statementof Rights to be established

net business losses for sole proprietorshipssee less teen smoking, as small, avored cigars are now taxed the same as

cigaretteshave longer to le property tax adjustment and renter rebate claimsbe exempt the doubling of interest and dividend income in the property tax adjustment, if theyre

over 65use two-year averaging for spending adjustments in tuition-only towns to protect against volatilitybe free of the land use change tax for working farms, when applying for a wastewater permitbe eligible for new market tax credits, increased funding for downtowns, and affordable housing

tax credits to help rebuild stronger communities and neighborhoods in the wake of the springooding and Irene

be forgiven from paying sales and use taxes on remotely accessed, prewritten software until2013

be exempt from paying sales and use taxes for toothbrushes, oss, and other dental healthitems if youre a dentist

receive a tax rebate if you buy a mobile home to replace one damaged by a ood in 2011see some property tax relief as a result of increased sales tax revenue allocation to the Educa-

tion Fundbe free of paying tax on meals if youre elderly or disabled and live in an independent living facil-

ity

Flood Recovery & Resiliency

Taking a lesson from the extraordinary efforts and cooperative spirit of community volunteers, our Na-tional Guard, regional commissions, and municipal government in the wake of Hurricane Irene, law-makers joined the governors administration in Montpelier ready to roll up our sleeves and do our partLegislators came back in the fall to get a handle on the action that was needed, and the House Waysand Means Committee voted out legislation to abate the property taxes in affected communities. Inaddition, the Governor appointed a Long Term Disaster Recovery Group to raise private money toassist homeowners who sustained damage. There were also early efforts to help coordinate publicand private resources to help mobile home owners dispose of their destroyed property so they did nothave to continue paying rent on their destroyed homes.


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The legislative session kicked into high gear in January and bipartisan efforts continued to maximizesupport for affected towns. These included:

Delaying the local payment to the Education Fund by 90 days for cash-strapped Irene-affectedtowns to maintain their cash ow.

Authorizing reimbursement to towns to abate education property taxes for properties that werepartially or fully destroyed and uninhabitable after Irene.

Putting $15 Million into the Emergency Relief Assistance Fund to hold harmless town tax rateincreases over three cents for ood recovery work.

Creating 11 new transportation positions through FEMA funds assigned to help municipalitiesnavigate accessing federal resources.

Passing a Rivers Bill that would bring Vermont communities into voluntary compliance with theNational Flood Insurance Program standards and address issues that surfaced during Irenesuch as removal of debris, securing propane tanks, training for those working in our streams,and continued river assessment in ood prone areas.

Modest increases in DMV fees in order to assist the Agency of Transportation with the ongoingcharge of rebuilding ood-damaged roads and bridges.

Increased lending capacity of the Vermont Economic Development Authority in order to helpmeet the needs of businesses as they recover.

Regulating activities in ood plains that are currently exempt from municipal review, such asagriculture, utilities, and transportation.Authorization of $500,000 in refundable tax credits for properties in designated downtowns and

village centers damaged by ooding this year.

RESOLUTION

Citizens United Resolution

On March 6, 2012, sixty-four towns and cities around Vermont passed resolutions urging Congressto overturn the US Supreme Courts radical Citizens Uniteddecision. They asked the Vermont State

Legislature to join their call to restore citizen condence in the purity and integrity of our democracy.In response the Legislature passed JRS 11 on a 92-40 vote in the House and 26-3 in the Senate.

There is no doubt that Citizens Unitedmarks a major upheaval in rst amendment law. In CitizensUnited, the U.S. Supreme Court conferred new dignity to corporate personhood by elevating corpo-rate free speech protections; making them equal to the rights enjoyed by real, live people.

Corporations are the engines of our countrys capitalism. While the corporate form has provided manybenets to our country, citizens have always expressed concern over the outsized inuence that cor-porations can wield.

Thomas Jefferson is said to have fretted that corporations would subvert the republic. In 1816 hewrote of his hope that we shall . . . crush in [its] birth the aristocracy of our monied corporationswhich dare already to challenge the government to a trial of strength and bid deance to the laws ofour society.Passage of JRS 11 represents a demand to recommit ourselves to public debate that is uninhibited,robust, and open; not dominated by corporate many. Our power, as average citizens, to inuenceelections should not be undermined by the collective nancial might of big corporations. Corporationsshould not be afforded the same rst amendment rights as natural persons. Thats not anti-business;its pro-democracy.

Documents

The Vermont 2012 Legislative Report